Tenors and baritones will face off in Worcester and Cambridge

Sunday

Mar 26, 2017 at 6:00 AMMar 27, 2017 at 10:57 AM

By Richard Duckett Telegram & Gazette Staff

There are duels, and then there are jewels.

In the case of "Affairs of the Heart: A Musical Duel of Tenors and Baritones," a show making its United States debut at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on Friday, the dueling will feature some of the most popular classic vocal jewels in the musical repertoire.

Six internationally known tenors and baritones, as well as coloratura soprano Olga Lisovskaya and pianist Victoria Ulanovskaya, will be joined for the performance in Mechanics Hall by members of Greater Worcester Opera and guest soprano Jane Shivick of Worcester. "Affairs of the Heart: A Musical Duel of Tenors and Baritones," a production of Talents of the World, Inc., will also be performed at First Church in Cambridge on April 1, and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on April 9.

"There are poetic duels and artistic duels. This is vocal duels. Three baritones battling three tenors," said Lisovskaya, who is also director of Talents of the World.

"In a duel there is a code of honor and judge of honor. In our case, the judge is the audience. The audience chooses the winner, but the winner is always the music itself. Music is a universal language and it brings joy, peace and love to all who listen and perform," Lisovskaya said.

The numbers that will be performed "are the most famous, recognizable and most beautiful hits. Even if they (the audience) don't know it, it becomes an instant favorite."

The production is also not unaware of the calendar and April Fool's Day. "It will be a very entertaining evening with a lot of jest and laughter," Lisovskaya said.

It's the music rather than the dueling that will appeal the most to Armenian baritone Vago Ohanyan, whose credits include roles with New York City Opera, when he appears in the production for the first time in Worcester.

"I'm not there to show off. I'm just there at this great event to share my musicianship. If one or two in the audience get touched with that, my job is done," Ohanyan said.

Besides Ohanyan the baritones are David Gvinianidze, originally from the republic of Georgia, and Petre Sokolov from Russia. The tenors are Adam Klein of New York City, and Alejandro Olmedo and Juan del Bosco, both of Mexico.

"We are a very multi-national, very international cast," Lisovskaya said.

The way the duel unfolds is that each tenor and baritone will sing an aria, and then there will be performances in categories such as opera, operetta, Russian Romance, Neapolitan, Broadway and folk song. For good measure there will also be "dueling prima donnas" with Lisovskaya and Christine Petkus of Greater Worcester Opera.

The musical numbers and scenes will include solos, duos, trios, "building up to big numbers where everyone's singing," Lisovskaya said. "It's going to be spectacular."

"A Musical Duel of Tenors and Baritones" was created by Gvinianidze, formerly of the Batumi State Opera in Georgia, who is also the founder of Talents of World.

Gvinianidze has received the United Nations medal for "promotion of arts and culture." "He is an exceptional person and a true servant of art," Lisovskaya said.

The duel show has enjoyed "great success in European countries. It's one of the most popular projects," Lisovskaya said. "It's a copyrighted project. It's never been done in the United States. Worcester will be the debut," she said.

The cast will be coming together for the show for the first time, but most have worked with Talents of the World before, she said.

Talents of the World was originally based in Eastern Europe and has put on numerous concerts in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and some Asian countries. Lisovskaya is originally from Kiev, Ukraine, and Ulanovskaya from Russia.

Gvinianidze, Lisovskaya and Ulanovskaya have now moved to the United States. Lisovskaya has been a soloist with Commonwealth Lyric Theater, Opera Providence and Opera New Hampshire, among other area groups.

After some smaller concerts stateside, last year Talents of the World produced its first major project in the U.S., "Three Tenors from Around the World: A Tribute to the Legendary Mario Lanza," which was performed at Mechanics Hall on Oct. 2. Shivick also sang in that show. "We cannot do a performance in Worcester without Jane Shivick," Lisovskaya said.

Ohanyan is no stranger to Mechanics Hall and Worcester. "I know the area very well," he said.

He is also very familiar with Worcester's historic connection with Armenian history. Many Armenians began settling here in the late 19th century, and the first Armenian church in the United States, the Armenian Church of Our Saviour, was established in Worcester. More people would come here fleeing/surviving the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23.

"Even before the Genocide it was the oldest diaspora," Ohanyan said of Worcester.

Mindful of that, on Friday he will sing an Armenian folk song, "The Crane," in which the singer calls out to the migratory bird, begging for word from his homeland. "It's a song of emigrants who have lost their homes. It's a very touching song," Ohanyan said.

Originally from Yerevan in Armenia, Ohanyan came to the United States 25 years ago and was a student at the Juilliard School in New York City. At the New York City Opera he debuted as Sid in Puccini’s "La Fanciulla Del West," and continues to perform internationally at many prestigious festivals and opera houses. He is also a teacher and composer.

Like Gvinianidze, Ohanyan is also a medal honoree, receiving the Medal for Arts and Culture from the Ministry of Culture in Armenia.

Ohanyan said the award inspired him to do even more.

"What you've got you have to give," he said.

The Mechanics Hall audience gave Talents of the World's "Three Tenors" show lots of standing ovations back in October, Lisovskaya recalled, which encouraged it to return.

"It was a huge success. They just wouldn't let us go. People are really hungry for this type of singing, this type of repertoire," she said.

"But we mix things up. We don't just do a whole night of opera. This really showcases how classically trained singers are amazing artists, showcasing many ways of musical art. Our mission is take beautiful singers to a wonderful audience so that they can hear what it is actually like when someone devotes their whole life to producing these wonderful sounds."

Richard Duckett is a staff writer at our sister newspaper in Worcester, The Telegram & Gazette. Contact him at richard.duckett@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @TGRDuckett

"Affairs of the Heart and Honor: A Musical Duel of Tenors and Baritones"

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